4th Day Glacier Bay

There were two glaciers on our cruise menu today; Marjorie Glacier, and John Hopkins Glacier. The overcast skies gave the Glaciers a starkness and majesty that put their setting into a prehistoric context. (I have no idea what that means, but at the moment it seemed to fit). We spent part of the time on the Norwegian Pearl bridge watching the pilot and talking to the Captain.

He is only 46 years old and had wanted to be a Captain since he was five. I asked him what motivated him at the tender age of five to seek his life’s work. He said that he used to sit on a bluff near his house in Norway and watch cruise ships sail by, and he knew he wanted to be a cruise ship captain. I said the same thing happened to me when I was five, and I immediately knew I wanted to be a cruise ship passenger. I couldn’t help notice that the Norwegian reaction to humor is a bit more subdued than I imagined it might be.

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Luckily we were the only cruise ship in Glacier Bay, so it was as if we were on a private tour. Michael and I watched part of the passing scenery as a guest of the courtyard Villas on their private deck. I’ve seen a lot of glaciers, but am still in awe as I realize these monster ice flows are moving toward me inch by inch.

Cocktail time for our press bunch was at the Martini Bar.

We had a“Martini Tasting”. One of the favorites was the Chocolate Martini, a couple of people had the Neon, and I settled for the “Totally Wired”; vodka, a splash of Red Bull, with cranberry sugar rim and a candy stir stick. The only “wired” effect I felt was in trying to frame a word, at odd times it came out as if my jaw was wired.

From there to Second City’s Improv show. It was standing room only in the Spinnaker Lounge, although rather than stand I leaned against a pillar. The audience loves this group, and again kudos to NCL for being flexible enough to book this kind of hip entertainment.